


Every Friendship Needs A Little Trolling

by makesometime



Series: Friday One Word Challenge Fics [17]
Category: Terra Nova (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Male-Female Friendship, Married Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-30
Updated: 2012-06-30
Packaged: 2017-11-08 21:52:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/447940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makesometime/pseuds/makesometime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fills for Friday One Word Challenge – Week 25</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. War

**Author's Note:**

> Fills for all of mercscilla's T/W prompts in [Friday One Word Challenge – Week 25](http://terranovafanfic.livejournal.com/193864.html). Prompt is chapter title.

"Where is she?" 

Nathaniel looked up from his plex to see Jim storming into his office, arm already extended in his direction with an accusatory pointed finger. He smiled tightly, uninvitingly, putting the plex down on his desk and leaning back in his chair.

"Where is who?"

Jim huffed, hands falling to his hips. "Your wife!"

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes on the man. Things must have got pretty bad for the cop to refer to her in such a way. "My _wife_?" He asked, keeping a healthy measure of distaste in his tone.

Jim sighed, deflating before the older man's eyes. "Lieutenant Washington." He clarified, looking almost confused by the unnecessary complexity of the words leaving his mouth. "Have you seen her?"

Nathaniel shrugged. "Not recently."

Jim wanted to argue. It was clear as day in the set of his shoulders, the look of disbelief that crossed his face. "Are you sure?"

"Are you questioning my word, Shannon?" He asked, hands flexing where they rested on his stomach.

It was Jim's turn to scowl. "No sir." He ground out through clenched teeth, turning and crossing to the door. When he turned back at the last minute to see Nathaniel's expression of cool disinterest replaced with amusement, he glowered. "Traitor!"

Nathaniel waited until he could hear the sheriff's boots reach ground level before he looked over his shoulder into the middle of the building. "All clear."

Alicia emerged from her hiding place and sauntered over to join him, standing beside his elevated legs. "I should feel a little bad about that."

Nathaniel smirked, dropping his feet from the desk to the floor and reaching for her hips, tugging her until she was sat in his lap. "Don't bother. Shannon was idiotic enough to start this, he can suffer the consequences." 

Alicia's expression shifted into fond annoyance as his hand tugged her tank from her fatigues, as he started to run warm fingertips over her abdomen. She linked her hands behind his neck, her own fingers passing through the hair at the back of his head as they sat quietly, enjoying each other's company. When he chanced a pass of his fingertips under her waistband she wriggled, a whoosh of breath escaping in a mix of surprise and irritation.

"Nathaniel..." She grumbled, not exactly attempting to get away but not letting his touch advance either. "I need to go if I'm going to win this."

He hummed non-committally, leant to press his lips to the curve of her neck. "You know this colony like the back of your hand." He said against her skin, tongue swiping over the gap between his lips. "You have an almost criminally unfair advantage."

"So what?" Alicia breathed, tilting her head to allow him better access. "You're just levelling the playing field?"

Nathaniel pulled away from her to grin with what, if the way her eyes darkened almost impossibly further and her fingernails dug into his scalp, was a convincing enough amount of charm and cockiness. "Could put it that way."

Alicia looked over towards the door of his office and then back at him. She sighed, pushing off of him – for a moment he thought for once he'd failed to read her correctly, had failed to convince her that a heavy makeout session was a far superior way of spending their time (almost _unthinkable_ ) - but then she proceeded to readjust her stance until she was straddling him, settling her weight in his lap.

She fixed him with a stern look. "Five minutes. I will never forgive you if I lose to him."

Nathaniel smirked. "Sure. This is all _my_ fault."

"Oh shut up." She growled, any reply he might have made cut off by the way she clasped his face and pulled his lips to hers.

Being the neutral party in a war had its perks after all.


	2. Breakfast

"Shannon."

Jim looked up at the sound of his name, said in a confused monotone by the woman now standing in front of him. As he expected, Alicia Washington in the morning looked much like she did during the rest of the day, only with slightly mussed hair and no heavy boots. She wiped a hand over her face to disguise her attempts at getting sleep out of her eyes, walking quietly over to join him.

"Morning Wash." He said with a bright grin.

She regarded him very carefully for a moment (Jim sensed this was how she looked when sizing up threats and was particularly glad he'd never been on the receiving end of such a consideration in the past) before she let a small smile grace her face. She walked the rest of the way into the kitchen to seat herself at the island, pillowed her chin on upturned hands.

"What are you doing in my kitchen at six am?" She asked, watching as he unpacked shopping bags.

"Making breakfast." He said simply, setting all of the necessary ingredients out in front of him. 

"Okay..." She replied quietly. "Why? And uh... will it be edible?"

He chuckled. "Breakfast I can do, Wash. Trust me. And a little birdy told me it was your birthday." He said, waiting until the expected annoyance crossed her face. "So I thought to myself. How could I appropriately show my appreciation for the woman who enjoys making my life as difficult as possible on a daily basis?"

"Shannon..."

He grinned disarmingly at her, saw it _almost_ work and decided to carry on. "I could have made some big public scene of my fondness for you, but I do rather value my limbs."

"So breakfast?" She smiled.

"Breakfast."

She was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Okay then. Don't let me stop you."

The pleasure of success flooded his body as he considered his next step. "Mixing bowl?"

"Third cupboard from the sink, bottom shelf." She indicated and Jim turned to crouch down at look inside for his intended item.

"Morning Shannon." He heard in a familiar deep rumble. Frowning to himself – he hadn't heard the front door open, which was strange since they were so close – Jim stood and turned to smile at Taylor.

A smile which, at the sight of the shirtless man walking through from the same direction Wash had a few minutes earlier, promptly died on his face.

He heard rather than saw Wash chuckling at whatever strained look he was currently wearing, heavy ceramic bowl clutched like a lifeline in a white-knuckled grip. "Commander. Fancy seeing you here."

Taylor leant up alongside where Wash was sitting and Jim shifted uncomfortably as they shared a silent conversation, years of knowing each other making a full discussion possible in a few moments of linked eyes. "We gonna have a problem here Shannon?" The older man asked eventually, his hand covering Wash's when she let hers curl supportively around his bicep.

Jim chuckled, half out of amusement that the two of them would think he'd go running out of Wash's unit proclaiming their secret relationship to the masses, half out of extreme discomfort at the way his mental pictures of these two hardened soldiers were softening into something far more familiar in front of his eyes. "No sir." He said resolutely. Then followed it with a grin. "Plenty of food here for three."

Ignoring the pair in favour of keeping his head down and preparing the food, Jim only half-sensed Taylor settling on a stool beside his second, toyed with requesting he put a shirt on before realising the suicide of that choice.

"So." He said, looking up at his audience once it was time to mix. "Can I ask?"

Wash just grinned. "Don't push it."

Jim smirked. "A happy birthday indeed, huh Wash?" He drawled, ignoring the berry that impacted with his forehead in response to his cheek.


	3. Tease

"Taylor's not going to like this." Jim said, trailing beside Wash as they finally made it out of the treeline.

"Shut up." Was her only reply. The same reply she'd been giving to every sentence he'd come out with since she crashed their rover into a tree an hour ago.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say rovers aren't cheap." 

A sigh. "Shut up."

"Especially not ones that I believe have been souped-up by speed freak lieutenants without their Commander's knowledge."

"Shannon..." 

Oh, that was new. Definitely something to exploit as the gate loomed into view. "He really doesn't know, does he?"

"Shut. Up."

It was as if all his fatigue, all the pain from being shunted into a massive tree trunk suddenly fled from his body at the prospect of a good blackmail scheme. "What's my silence worth?"

"Your silence isn't worth anything." She said. "I'll deal with this on my own."

"How long have you kept it hidden from him?"

Wash shot him a look for the first time in a good three quarters of an hour. "A while."

"Ooh, now. Does that count as a lie?" He prodded, hand clutching his chest dramatically. "Have you lied to the one man you swore never would?"

"It'd only be a lie if it had ever come up in conversation." She said, getting slightly ahead of him now they could hear the noise of the colony, hear the call being raised of the pair of them returning unscheduled. "It hasn't. Therefore, not a lie."

"I don't buy it Wash. You still kept it from him." He said, and she stopped dead just as the gate started to raise, turning to face him. "Don't come crying to me when he disciplines you."

It's not until the woman in front of him cocks her hip, crosses her arms over her chest and lets her scowl melt into a slow smirk that he realises what he's said. Physically back-pedalling, he skitters away from her as if burned. "Not what I meant! Not what I meant!"

Wash just laughs (horrible, horrible woman), turns her attention to the colony where they both find Taylor waiting, confused. "If you're that interested, Shannon, I'll be happy to give you a full rundown later."

"I hate you." 

Wash pats him on the shoulder as she passes, walking into the colony and greeting the Commander while Jim is still standing forlornly outside the gate, schooled once again by Terra Nova's second in command.


	4. Jealous

He's climbing the steps of Command with the intention of briefing Taylor on their mole situation when he spots Wash standing at the railing, looking over at the market. It's been a couple of days since he's seen his friend after her mission to Outpost Nine and he finds his feet carrying him to her without much conscious planning.

"He's not in there." She says distractedly when she senses his approach. It's only as he gets closer than he notices the force of her grip on the rail, the way her forehead is knitted together at whatever has stolen her attention and he silently settles beside her to figure it out without risking having to ask.

He scans the area below them and struggles to identify what's wrong. Finally he spots his wife and stops looking about for the cause of Wash's annoyance to indulge in a little staring of his own. Elisabeth looks so beautiful, lit up by the sun and smiling, that he doesn't even have room in his head beyond the force of his love for her to contemplate what might have caused her happiness.

Until an arm slips around her waist and pulls her into a half-hug. He imagines he can hear her laugh from this distance, sees the way her own arm links around the waist of the figure beside her. And then... stays there?

"You understand now?" He hears from the woman next to him.

Confusion mounts within him until he realises just _who_ the figure embracing his wife is, widens his field of concentration to include the dark t-shirt and silver hair of the colony's Commander.

"They're just getting things for dinner, right?" He asks quietly, pretends he's not standing as uncomfortably stiff as the lieutenant.

"Right, of course." Wash scoffs. "A task which necessitates snuggling."

Jim snorts, pushing off of the rail and walking the short distance to the wall of Command, then turning on his heel and tracking back to his friend. "This is silly."

Wash nods. "Undeniably."

"But I want to punch your husband." Jim continues.

Wash growls. "Get in line."


	5. Forbidden

"I have a question." Elisabeth said, shifting a little in her husband's hold.

Alicia looked up from her glass of wine, feeling Nathaniel's arm tighten across her chest. She felt unspeakably relaxed tonight, as evidenced by the fact she was allowing herself to settle in her lover's embrace in front of their closest friends without fear of discovery or gossip. But there was an undercurrent to her friend's seemingly innocuous statement that made her comfort start to fade.

"Ask away, doc." Nathaniel answered for her and she linked her fingers with the hand resting on her side.

"You two have been together for seven years now, correct?" Alicia nodded. "Which means when you got together you were still under the control of the 22nd century."

Nathaniel pressed a kiss to the back of Alicia's head "That is does."

"Wasn't that forbidden?" Elisabeth asked.

Alicia was about to let Nathaniel reply when she spotted the sparkle of amusement in Elisabeth's eyes, squeezed his hand to indicate she wanted to reply this time. "It was. Expressly."

Elisabeth started to smile. "Which is why you kept it secret so long?"

"Exactly why, yes."

A chuckle, a sip of her wine and a slightly concerned look on Jim's face preceded Elisabeth's next words. "How exciting."

Alicia hummed, leaning closer to Nathaniel. "You have _no_ idea."

"Uh, I really don't think we need to hear this Liz." Jim said, arm pulling tight around her shoulders.

"Come on Jim, you're not the least bit curious?" Elisabeth asked, craning her head to look up at her husband. "It's so romantic."

"Yes, among other things that we don't discuss in polite company."

Elisabeth just laughed, smacking his stomach with her free hand. "Who else knew?" She asked the pair across from them, ignoring the exaggerated reaction of her husband to her small attack.

"Guz knew almost from the beginning. Reynolds found out soon after he joined the forces." Alicia said. "Malcolm we outright told."

"Poor man took a liking to Wash pretty early on." Nathaniel added. "It was for his own good."

Jim snorted at this and Alicia thought she saw his hold tighten a tiny amount at the mention of the man's name but decided not to bring it up for everyone's sake.

"And the other two?" Elisabeth prompted.

Alicia laughed, finding her tongue loosened by good liquor and pleasant company.. "Guz found us after we painted my unit. It was... tricky to ignore the hand prints on Nathaniel's chest. Mark wasn't quite so lucky."

"Ever noticed the boy's caution when walking into my office?" Nathaniel asked, and Elisabeth nodded quickly. "Now you know why."

"Oh my god." Elisabeth laughed, leaning forward and setting her glass down on the coffee table. "How much did he see?"

"Enough that he went bright red every time he saw either of us for a couple of months afterwards." Alicia said.

Jim frowned. "It didn't bother you?"

Alicia shrugged. "We knew he'd keep his mouth shut. I can guarantee he's seen worse since, the perils of living in such close quarters."

"As long as he's not doing anything with Maddy, I really don't care." He sniffed.

Alicia grinned. "Did you forbid it Shannon?"

"Not... explicitly. But he knows." Jim said, looking slightly uncertain. "Yeah, he knows." Alicia laughed at this, looking down at her glass once more to hide her true amusement. "What?" Jim asked, a step away from whining.

"In the past five minutes I've revealed to you the pleasures of forbidden relationships and how good Mark is at keeping secrets and you're not the slightest bit worried?"

Elisabeth had to react quickly to hold Jim down as he attempted to jump to his feet, face like thunder. "Jim, darling. Relax. Alicia's just joking." Turning to her friend, Elisabeth shot the medic an imploring look which was _so_ tempting to ignore in the face of Jim's reaction. "Aren't you?"

Alicia left it a beat before replying. "Yes, Shannon. Just joking."

Jim huffed, settling back against the couch and pulling Elisabeth close once more. "Good." He nodded. "Good. Now, where were we?"


	6. Beginning

It was a beautiful day out by the lake, one that made every other moment of stress, danger and exhaustion in her life suddenly seem insignificant. Alicia leant back on her elbows on the bank, watching the children play in the shallows with a mother's cautious eye.

"Hey Wash." She heard from her left, looked up to see Jim approaching her resting spot. The man had a cast on his right forearm but was otherwise in good spirits, easing himself down next to her on the blanket.

"Shannon." She smiled, tipping her sunglasses down to look at him carefully. "How's the wrist?"

"Two more days." He said with relish. "And I can finally scratch the damn itch I've had on the back of my hand for weeks."

Alicia laughed, following his gaze to where Zoe was swinging Bethany around so her little feet skimmed the surface of the water. "I know that feeling well."

Jim fell quiet as they watched their daughters play, eventually settling onto his back to allow the sun's rays to warm his face. "Do you ever think about that time? Before Terra Nova?"

"Often." Alicia smiled. "It gets less painful to remember things as time goes by, but I don't think I could ever stop thinking about it."

"This was supposed to be a new start." He said quietly. "And then Lucas..."

"Shannon. There's thinking, and there's dwelling. The latter isn't healthy, I can tell you that for a fact." Alicia said, not once taking her eyes off her daughter. "Take it from someone who's had three chances of a new beginning in their life. Learn from it, but don't let it consume you."

"Easier said than done." He murmured.

"No." Alicia said with such simplicity that Jim sat up again, looking at her in confusion. "That's not true. Look at your daughter. She's spent the majority of her life, while Beth has spent the entirety of hers, breathing clean air and living a largely untroubled existence. They have opportunities that simply didn't exist in 2149. _That_ is why everything, every little shitty thing that we live through is worth it. For them." Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Maddy and Mark walking slowly down to the water, their little boy cradled in his mother's arms as he wriggled with excitement at the sight of the water. Alicia nudged Jim's shoulder with her own. "And for the newest generation, Grandpa."

Jim scoffed at her teasing, but squeezed her arm with his uninjured hand. "Thanks Wash. I didn't know you were so good at pep talks."

Alicia grinned. "It's a talent I don't advertise, otherwise I'd never get a moment's peace."

She let her attention wander as their conversation came to a natural close and saw Nathaniel walking down to the water out of their daughter's line of sight, dressed solely in a pair of black cargo shorts. Alicia watched as he snuck up behind Bethany and pulled her into his arms, the young girl's squeals of laughter drawing a smile to her face.

"Go to them, Wash." Jim said.

"I'm supposed to be keeping watch." She said reluctantly.

"I can do that just as well." Jim said. "And being the invalid, I can't go in the water anyway. Go on."

Alicia shot him a grateful smile, tugging the t-shirt she borrowed from Nathaniel over her head and walking down to the water in her swimsuit. Nathaniel dropped Bethany in a deeper bit of the water just as Alicia's feet entered the shallowest part of the lake and so it was a sopping wet little missile that launched itself at her legs as she approached her family.

She scooped her daughter into her arms as she waded out to her husband, taking his proffered hand. When he pulled unexpectedly she fell against him and smiled into the kiss he pressed to her lips. Bethany made a sound of disgust and wriggled free, allowing Alicia to link her arms around Nathaniel's neck and make their kiss deeper.

From his position on the bank Jim watched as they broke apart, sharing a warm smile before turning as one to chase after their daughter. The pair of them had changed so much since the removal of the portal, were clearly far more content and happy in their lives that even in his most self-absorbed moments, he couldn't find it within himself to regret its loss.


End file.
